Learn Hardcore German: Im Tutorium habe ich den Plan für die Hausarbeit Schritt für Schritt erklärt bekommen. - In the tutorial I had the plan for the term paper explained to me step by step.

Tutorium is a neuter noun: das Tutorium, plural die Tutorien.
So: in dem Tutorium → im Tutorium (in the tutorial / in the tutorial session).

Why does the sentence start with “Im Tutorium” instead of “Ich”?

German main clauses are verb-second (V2): exactly one element goes in first position, then the conjugated verb, then the rest.

Here:

First position: Im Tutorium
Second position: habe
Then: ich den Plan … erklärt bekommen.

You could also say:

Ich habe im Tutorium den Plan … erklärt bekommen.

Both are correct.
Starting with Im Tutorium simply foregrounds the setting (where it happened). It’s a common stylistic choice in German to start with time/place information.

Why is it “den Plan” and not “der Plan” or “dem Plan”?

Because Plan is masculine and is used here as a direct object (accusative).

Nominative: der Plan
Accusative: den Plan

The underlying pattern of erklären is:

jemandem etwas erklären
- dative (receiver): jemandem
- accusative (thing explained): etwas

Your sentence has:

Receiver: ich (in this special construction, it becomes the subject)
Thing explained: den Plan (accusative)

So den Plan is correct because it’s the thing that is being explained to you.

What does “für die Hausarbeit” do in the sentence, and why is it accusative?

für always governs the accusative, so you need:

für die Hausarbeit (not für der/dem Hausarbeit)

Functionally, this phrase states the purpose of the plan:

den Plan für die Hausarbeit = the plan for the term paper / written assignment

So grammatically:

für → accusative
die Hausarbeit is feminine, accusative singular is also die Hausarbeit.

What does the structure “erklärt bekommen” mean, and how is it different from just “erklären”?

erklärt bekommen is a special construction often called the “bekommen-passive” in German.

Compare:

Jemand erklärt mir den Plan.
- Active: Someone explains the plan to me.
Ich bekomme den Plan erklärt.
- “bekommen-passive”: I get the plan explained. → Focus on what I receive.
Mir wird der Plan erklärt.
- Regular passive: The plan is being explained to me.

In your perfect-tense sentence:

Ich habe den Plan erklärt bekommen.
= I had / have the plan explained (to me).

Key point:

With ich habe den Plan erklärt, ich would be the person doing the explaining: I explained the plan.
With ich habe den Plan erklärt bekommen, ich is the person receiving the explanation: I got the plan explained (to me).

Is “erklärt bekommen” treated like one verb? How do I use it in other tenses?

Functionally, yes, you can think of “etwas erklärt bekommen” as a kind of multi‑word verb meaning “to get something explained (to you)”.

The grammar, however, works like this:

Conjugate bekommen in the tense you need.
Use the past participle of the main verb (erklärt) at the end.

Examples:

Präsens:
- Ich bekomme den Plan erklärt.
Präteritum:
- Ich bekam den Plan erklärt.
Perfekt (your sentence type):
- Ich habe den Plan erklärt bekommen.
Futur I:
- Ich werde den Plan erklärt bekommen.

Subordinate clause:

…, dass ich den Plan erklärt bekomme.
…, dass ich den Plan erklärt bekommen habe.

So mechanically: [subject] + [form of bekommen] + … + [Partizip II, here: erklärt] + [bekommen (only in compound tenses/future)].

Could I also say “Im Tutorium wurde mir der Plan Schritt für Schritt erklärt” instead? What’s the difference?

Yes, that sentence is correct:

Im Tutorium wurde mir der Plan Schritt für Schritt erklärt.

This uses the regular passive (Vorgangspassiv) with werden:

Active: Jemand erklärt mir den Plan.
Passive: Mir wird der Plan erklärt.

Comparison:

Ich habe den Plan Schritt für Schritt erklärt bekommen.
- “bekommen-passive”, very common in spoken German, strongly highlights that I received this explanation.
Im Tutorium wurde mir der Plan Schritt für Schritt erklärt.
- Regular passive, slightly more neutral/formal, still common in both spoken and written German.

Meaning is nearly the same; the focus and style differ slightly:

bekommen-passive → emphasizes the beneficiary/recipient (you).
werden-passive → more neutral event description.

Why is there no “mir” in “… habe ich den Plan … erklärt bekommen”? Shouldn’t it be “mir erklärt”?

In the bekommen-passive, the recipient becomes the subject:

Active: Jemand erklärt mir den Plan.
bekommen-passive: Ich bekomme den Plan erklärt.

So:

ich already expresses the recipient (the person who “gets” something),
den Plan is the thing you get explained.

Adding mir would normally be considered redundant or wrong:

✗ Ich habe mir den Plan erklärt bekommen. (usually judged ungrammatical)

You should choose one of these patterns instead:

Ich habe den Plan erklärt bekommen.
Mir wurde der Plan erklärt.
Jemand hat mir den Plan erklärt.

What does “Schritt für Schritt” mean, and what kind of expression is it?

Schritt für Schritt is a fixed idiomatic expression meaning “step by step”.

Features:

Literally: step for step.
It functions as an adverbial of manner (how something is done).
It’s a fixed phrase: you don’t change the case or pluralize it here (Schritte für Schritte is not used in this sense).
Spelling: Schritt (capital S), für (lowercase), Schritt (capital S), each as separate words.

So in your sentence:

… den Plan Schritt für Schritt erklärt bekommen.
= … got the plan explained step by step.

Is the position of “Schritt für Schritt” fixed, or could it move within the sentence?

It’s not strictly fixed, but some positions sound more natural than others.

Your version:

Im Tutorium habe ich den Plan für die Hausarbeit Schritt für Schritt erklärt bekommen.
→ very natural.

Other possible orders:

Im Tutorium habe ich den Plan Schritt für Schritt für die Hausarbeit erklärt bekommen.
(sounds a bit less smooth; it splits the tight phrase “Plan für die Hausarbeit”.)

General rules of thumb:

Schritt für Schritt is a manner adverbial, and these often go near the end, just before the participles in perfect tense:
- … den Plan Schritt für Schritt erklärt bekommen.
You could also put it a bit earlier:
- Im Tutorium habe ich Schritt für Schritt den Plan für die Hausarbeit erklärt bekommen.
  (also okay, with more emphasis on the slow, gradual nature of the process.)

So: it can move, but native speakers prefer it close to the verb phrase at the end.

Why is the auxiliary “habe” used here and not “bin”?

Because the auxiliary in the perfect tense depends on the main (finite) verb, which is bekommen, not erklären.

bekommen is a transitive verb and forms its perfect with haben:
- Ich habe etwas bekommen.

So in the bekommen-passive:

Ich habe den Plan erklärt bekommen.

If you used a sein-verb like gehen or kommen, then you would use bin:

Ich bin spät gekommen.

But with bekommen, it must be haben, regardless of the participle erklärt attached to it.

What exactly is a “Tutorium” in German? Is it just “class”?

A Tutorium is a specific type of class in the German university context:

Usually a small-group session led by a tutor (often an advanced student or teaching assistant).
Often accompanies a lecture to practice, review, or deepen the material.

It’s closer to:

tutorial, recitation, or discussion section

than to a general Kurs (course) or Vorlesung (lecture).

So im Tutorium = in the tutorial / in the tutorial session.

What is the difference between “Hausarbeit” and “Hausaufgabe”?

They are quite different in academic contexts:

die Hausarbeit
- Typically at university (also sometimes in upper secondary school).
- A written paper / term paper / research essay, often several pages long.
- Part of the formal assessment.
die Hausaufgabe (plural: Hausaufgaben)
- Homework in school (exercises, short tasks to do at home).

In your sentence:

der Plan für die Hausarbeit = the plan for a term paper / written assignment, not ordinary daily homework.